Chief Specials interview | Vermeer

Chef Specials, Chocolatemakers

Time for the second Chef Special! Restaurant Vermeer in the heart of Amsterdam is the showpiece of chef Christopher Naylor. Since a few years he has been working with our chocolate. Well, he 'certainly wants to say something about that, please have a seat' he says with amused eyes. And we did.

AN ENGLISHMAN AT HOME IN AMSTERDAM

This friendly Englishman has lived in Amsterdam for 20 years and considers it his home. "I'm a real city man," he says with a charming English accent. "Amsterdam is balanced, in a different way from other cities. Here there are no big problems like in London or New York."

How did you come into contact with the Chocolatemakers' chocolate?

Several years ago, Enver (Loke) stepped into the restaurant with a few bars of chocolate under his arm and an ironclad story. He told about the Très Hombres boat, which had sailed from the Dominican Republic to Amsterdam. As if the story and the philosophy behind it were not enough, he also said in passing "oh, and we also make them ourselves!". Wonderful, we switched immediately.

How does the Chocolatemakers' chocolate fit in with Vermeer restaurant?

At restaurant Vermeer, it's all about produce and pure flavors. Nature is my main source of inspiration. We use fresh and changing products that are in season as much as possible, preferably from the region. I always want to know the origins of our products and the people behind them. The Chocolatemakers fit that bill. They make very good chocolate with very little embellishment. I don't like chocolate with pepper or other craziness, for me it has to be pure and essential so you can really taste the flavors of the cocoa. The Virunga tastes totally different from the Peruvian Awajun. The difference and nuance, I love that.

How do you use the couverture in your dishes?

We use the white chocolate, the milk and the dark chocolate. The couverture is used in both sweet dishes and savoury dishes, such as a beautiful beetroot sauce based on chocolate. That is a very nice dish.

Do you ever get feedback on the chocolate?

Certainly, customers regularly ask about it and I am glad about that because it means there is more interest from consumers. All our staff can inform customers exactly how it is made. We also went to the factory and got the explanation about the chocolate, from the bean to the bar. Very impressive. We only get positive feedback from customers, I've never heard a complaint.

What is the difference between the Chocolatemakers' couverture and that of more large-scale producers?

The difference between Chocolatemakers chocolate and Callebaut's, for example, which is comparing a strawberry to a potato, haha! What I find something very special about Chocolatemakers chocolate is that they do not use soy lecithin in their chocolate. I think soy extracts are bad for our Western stomachs. I fear that in a few years we will experience harmful effects from this. There is also less cocoa butter in it. Of course we had to get used to the melting point of this chocolate, which is different from other chocolate that makes sense. Just a little trial and error and by now we have mastered it just fine. We only use chocolate from Chocolatemakers.

I walk out of Vermeer restaurant with a feeling of satisfaction and also pride. What a passionate chef Chris Naylor is! It is clear to me that Chris knows all the ins and outs about all the products used in his kitchen. Chris is a true ambassador of the Chocolatemakers, and we should be a bit proud of that!